Beginner’s Tips for Choosing Wine

San Francisco, California is home to one of the largest wine competitions in the world. The Chronicle Wine competition, held every Continue Reading

San Francisco, California is home to one of the largest wine competitions in the world. The Chronicle Wine competition, held every February, exhibits the best wines from hundreds of American wineries. With such a huge event based on fine wine, San Francisco has become a city that always offers the best selections in wine and the number of liquor selection stores San Francisco CA makes it easy to find good wine in your area. Pair that with the friendly demeanor of the residents of San Francisco and you get a place that is full of friendly entertainment such as dinner parties that feature the best quality wine that is perfectly matched to the occasion. With so many different fine wines on the market, it is important to know which wine will be good for a particular event or type of food. It can take years to hone the delicate skill of tasting and sniffing wine, but there are a few other clues that you can use to narrow your selection. Here are a few beginner’s pointers for selecting the right wine for your event.

Pay attention to the label.
Simply reading the label can give you a wealth of information about a wine. For example, you can use the label to determine if a wine is an “Old World” wine or a “New World” wine. An old-world wine is one that is made in a country that has been making wine for centuries such as France or Italy. A new world wine is one that is made in countries that haven’t been making wine as long such as the United States or Chile. Old world wines will have the region named on the label and new world wines will have the name of the grape that is used to make the wine on the label.

Know the differences between white wine and red wine.
By being able to choose between white wine or red wine, this can help to narrow your choices by around 50%. A general rule of thumb is to pair white wines with lighter dishes such as seafood and red wines with heavier dishes such as red meats. While this decision works most of the time, there can be a few exceptions such as a seafood dish smothered in a heavy sauce that may pair better with a red wine.

Don’t be afraid to use Rosé when in doubt.
Rosé is a unique wine that has a little color, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It has a beautiful pink color but is not a mix of white wine and red wine. Rosé is traditionally thought of as a light, refreshing summer wine but can be a great wine for any dinner party or event.

Although it will take practice and patience to develop your senses well enough to select the perfect wine, you don’t have to be a wine connoisseur to choose the best wine for an event. Use the tips above as a basic beginner’s guide to narrow your choices. This will lead to a great wine choice that is sure to make your event a success.